u/Upstairs-Leopard-378

Hello,

I recently applied for a Research Scientist position at Anduril. I was invited for a screening interview. That doesn’t bother me. What does is that subsequent interviews will likely involve leetcode puzzles. I don’t do well in high pressure, time limited tasks - even if they involves Python coding. Has anyone been through these type of interviews? They are entirely new for me as I have not been in the job market for well over a decade.

I was laid off last October as a federal contractor due to budget cuts at a federal agency. I have an extensive background in scientific programming, high performance computing and AI/ML.

I have had two offers - one verbal and the other written which I accepted only to have these positions descoped before the start date because of their contingent status. I am awaiting a third interview outcome after three rounds.

Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be happening but this is a toxic job market. Far too many federal contract companies establish “contigent benches” to demonstrate that they are ready to go if selected. Many retain these benches even if they know that they cannot actually start these hires.